JOSIE STOCKILL A NEW TALL FERN

Tall Ferns head coach Kennedy Kereama has named a vastly inexperienced group of players to contest a Four Nation Tournament in China at the end of this month with an incredible eight players set for debuts INCLUDING Hawkes Bays Josie Stockill.

Josie is the first Tall Fern from Hawkes Bay since Kirsten Daly in 1985.

Josie is a product of the Basketball Hawkes Bay age group representative programme and was a key member of the National Championship winning Hawkes Bay Under 15 and Under 17 teams.

She has been on a basketball scholarship at Colgate University playing in Division One of the USA NCAA competition.

Of the 12 players named, only Toni Edmondson, Samara Gallaher, Kate Fielding and Jessica Bygate have worn the silver fern at senior level before. Kereama however is far from down, in fact he is energized by the challenge and opportunity in front of his young team.

“We always talk about the talent pool being a little shallow in New Zealand women’s basketball so here is an opportunity to strengthen it. Some of these young women will have an opportunity to measure themselves against some of the best in the world with China, a WNBA All Star team and a Slovenian team also in China.

The 2018 Commonwealth games on the Gold Coast is our only confirmed next major event (Rio is subject to qualification), this gives us a great chance to give some of the younger players that will potentiality push for spots in this team a chance to gain a better understanding of what international basketball is all about.”

The team is not totally bereft of experience though, with Kereama able to call upon a core of talent that has played internationally or been on the edge of the Tall Ferns for some years.

“It is great to have Antonia Edmondson available who is our most experienced player in the team. Toni has been a very solid for us over the past few years and her scoring power will help us keep the scoreboard ticking over against the other nations. Toni will be backed up by Samara Gallaher who is a six-year veteran of our program as a trialist, but played her first game with the Tall Ferns in 2013. She has really grown as a player over the past two years and I think she could be a major player in this group. Kate Fielding is also another of our more experienced players having come from a WNBL playing background, we will rely on their leadership.”

Kereama says the quality of the young talent that will look to learn off the likes of Edmondson and follow the lead of the more experienced players has shone through in trials over recent days.

“I am very interested to see how our three Junior Tall Ferns involved with this group go on tour, I believe all three could be major players for the Tall Ferns anytime from now and the next ten years. Krystal Leger-Walker has been outstanding in camp and shows poise and skill well beyond her years.

“We know the tour is going to be tough and I have been constantly reminding the players of what we are up against. However I think talking about it and preparing that way is one thing, experiencing it for yourself will be something entirely different.”

The team features the inclusion of former Silver Fern netballer Jess Tuki and Krystal Leger-Walker, both from the Waikato. Leger-Walker is the daughter of Leanne Walker, who was a Tall Fern and captained the side at the 2004 Athens Olympics. The St Peters student has already played for NZ at age group level in touch and recently played alongside mum Leanne in the Waikato team at the Women’s Basketball Championships.

19 year old Deena Franklin is another to emerge from the Junior Tall Ferns, the former Westlake Girls High standout will provide some height for the Tall Ferns, standing at 1.86m and was a member of the recently crowned WBC Champions Harbour Breeze.

Kereama has named two reserves who will be on standby through the next week as the team prepares at a Christchurch camp before departing for China on August 19.

TALL FERNS – team for China, August 19-30 2014

Jessica Bygate (Dickinson State University)

Shea Crotty (Canterbury Wildcats)

Antonia Edmondson (West Coast Waves)

Kate Fielding (West Coast Waves)

Deena Franklin (North Harbour Breeze)

Samara Gallaher (Oceana Gold Rush)

Krystal Leger-Walker (Waikato Wizards/Junior Tall Ferns)

Natasha Lenden (Waikato Wizards)

Josephine Stockill (Collgate University)

Dru Toleafoa (Junior Tall Ferns)

Jessica Tuki (Waikato Wizards)

Maia Wilson (Waitakere West Lady Rangers/Junior Tall Ferns)

Tall Ferns Staff

• Kennedy Kereama (Head Coach)
• Aik Ho (Assistant Coach)
• Gail McLauchlan (Manager)
• Ariane Carrol (Physio)
• Dr Chan Dassanayake (Doctor)